(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for measuring an aging environment. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for measuring an environment of a winery, which is a wine brewery.
(b) Description of the Related Art
In general, a winery environment measurement apparatus measures an environment state such as ambient temperature and humidity of an aging apparatus using a sensor that is installed within a winery.
Further, when measuring internal temperature of the aging apparatus, a winery manager removes a bung of the aging apparatus, inserts a temperature sensor into the bung hole, measures the internal temperature of the aging apparatus, and writes the measured temperature by hand. Therefore, it is inconvenient to measure an internal temperature of the aging apparatus, and an error may occur due to erroneous writing of the winery manager.
In order to improve such a problem, a method of automatically measuring the internal temperature of the aging apparatus by attaching a sensor to each aging apparatus was suggested.
First aging of wine is performed on a large scale in a large aging apparatus that is made of various materials such as cement, stainless, and wood. Such a first aging apparatus is fixed to the winery and is managed by the winery, and thus by attaching a sensor to the first aging apparatus, environment information can be continuously collected.
Secondary aging of the wine is performed in an oak barrel that is smaller than the aging apparatus for first aging of wine. First aging is performed for a few weeks, but secondary aging is generally performed over a long term for 18 months or more. Oak barrels, which are a secondary aging apparatus, are necessary in a larger number than that containers of the first aging apparatus and are a consumption apparatus, not an apparatus that is fixed to the winery, and a large amount of secondary aging apparatuses are newly bought every year and are installed in the winery.
When producing high-quality wine, in order to maintain high quality, an oak barrel is generally used only once time, and even in a winery that produces intermediate grade wine, an oak barrel is used only for a limited number of times. Due to such a reason, because a method of attaching a sensor to the oak barrel has low economic efficiency, a method of attaching a sensor to the secondary aging apparatus is not appropriate.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.